Disclosure: Disney-Hyperion sent me a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review, and is partnering with me for a giveaway!
The Adventurers Guild is the first book in a new series about a group of teenagers who—not necessarily by choice—end up in the guild that protects their town … [Read More...]

H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu for Beginning Readers looks like a children’s easy reader book, but it’s definitely not one! Written, illustrated, and bound in the style of Dr. Seuss, it tells the basics of the Cthulhu mythos. I wouldn’t use it as bedtime reading for your 5 year old, but my … [Read More...]

Review written by Jonathan Lavallee
In Drink, Slay, Love, Pearl is a sixteen year old vampire, doing traditionally vampire things. Learning how to navigate a strict and totalitarian vampire society. How to fight, and how to hunt. She was born to be important, because her family is important, but … [Read More...]

The Princess in Black is a cute chapter book for new readers. It’s the first book in a series about Princess Magnolia whose secret identity is a monster fighting princess in black. But a princess doesn’t wear black, so this is the perfect disguise! It’s basically a superhero story with princesses … [Read More...]

I finally read The Handmaid’s Tale, which has been on my “to read” list pretty much since it was first published in the United States in 1986. With the TV series out, I thought that some parents might wonder if/when the novel would be appropriate for their kids. I'm also going to assume that if … [Read More...]

The Sleeper and the Spindle, written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Chris Riddell, is a picture book inspired by Sleeping Beauty and some other fairy tales. But don’t let the picture book format make you think this isn’t a wonderful book for older readers. In fact, I think it’s probably best for … [Read More...]

Review written by Jennifer Lewis.
Everyone knows that Grandpa Portman’s stories about the peculiar children are just that, stories. There’s no such thing as children with special powers—a levitating girl, a boy with bees living in his body, a girl who can conjure fire, or a boy who can animate … [Read More...]

Review written by Jonathan Lavallee.
“The trip is a difficult one, I will not be myself when I reach you.”
In When You Reach Me, Miranda is the daughter of a single mom who got an invitation to be on the $20,000 Dollar Pyramid. She’s dealing with the strain of helping her mom train, as well as … [Read More...]

Review written by Jonathan Lavallee.
The Sensationalist is unhappy with his lot in life. Born Andrew Macon Bean, he was recruited into H.E.R.O., a superhero sidekick training program, because of his incredibly heightened senses. H.E.R.O aims to take young people with extraordinary talents and … [Read More...]

Review written by Jonathan Lavallee.
The Door in the Hedge came on my radar as I was trolling through the Toronto Public Library ebook website. It was part of the Big Library Read program where the company that handles ebooks for the library, Overdrive, decided to let everyone borrow this book … [Read More...]

I have vague memories of going with my mom to visit the Vietnamese family her church sponsored after they fled in boats from their war-torn home. I remember a small apartment that smelled of unfamiliar food. I was very shy because I couldn’t understand what they said. They gave me and my brother … [Read More...]

Review written by Jonathan Lavallee
My daughter Rowan, who was 10 when I started doing guest reviews and is now 15, tends to like books filled with melancholia. Those usually aren’t my thing, but because she reads them I’m trying to expand my reading habits. Goodbye Stranger is one of those … [Read More...]

Review written by Jonathan Lavallee
How do you measure time?
Hour of the Bees measures time in teardrops that fall as you read the book.
Carol, nee Carolina, has discovered that she is going to spend her summer at her grandfather’s ranch. He has late stage dementia and they are getting … [Read More...]

As Old as Time: A Twisted Tale is the Beauty and the Beast entry in the A Twisted Tale series from Disney Press. Like A Whole New World, this retelling pretty quickly veers off from the familiar plot of both movies, reimagining characters and adding lots of new characters and plot twists. If you’re … [Read More...]

Review written by Jonathan Lavallee.
Michael Marion Magadlene Morn Edson was found in a White Castle by St. Mary of the Woods School for Wayward boys when he was just a baby. There was no tearful goodbye on a doorstep, or anything like that for Michael. What he discovered there, as he got older, … [Read More...]

Pennyroyal Academy is a story of a young girl who joins a military academy where girls study to become princesses who can fight witches while boys study to become knights who can fight dragons. You just have to accept the terms princess and knight—they’re titles conferred upon completion of the … [Read More...]

Lumberjanes is a comic book series about a summer camp for “hardcore lady-types.” Volume 1: Beware the Kitten Holy is a collection of the first 4 issues, which introduces the characters and gets them started on their adventures—it certainly doesn't bring a story arc to a close, so expect your young … [Read More...]

Review written by Jennifer Lewis.
Don't Look Back begins with Samantha not knowing where she is, how she got there, or why she is in such a disheveled state. This confusion is due to a traumatic event that resulted in the loss of all of Samantha’s personal memories. To make matters worse, her … [Read More...]

A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale reimagines the Disney movie Aladdinby working from the premise that Jafar maintained ownership of the lamp at the Cave of Wonders. This, as you can probably imagine, does NOT go well for the Sultan, Jasmine, the genie, or Agrabah. It doesn’t make things worse for … [Read More...]

Review written by Jonathan Lavallee.
Jinx can see it happening, the hunger in the clearing, the fact that his step-parents just had a new child. He’s going to be the one abandoned in the woods. So, when Jinx is taken into the Urwald he isn't shocked. Just resigned to his fate. That’s when he … [Read More...]